Vision Australia has made a submission to a Federal Government public consultation supporting the proposed introduction of an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) to electric vehicles.
When travelling at low speeds, electric vehicles can be hard for pedestrians to hear, proving risky for the blind and low vision community, the organisation said. "Specifically, [the government] is determining whether to adopt United Nations Regulation 138/01 as a new Australian Design Rule in electric cars. If mandated, the AVAS could save lives and avoid thousands of injuries". Through the National Road Safety Action Plan 2023-25, the government is committed to mandating AVAs for electric vehicles, subject to the outcomes of an impact analysis process.
At this stage, the government is proposing to introduce AVAS only for light electric vehicle classes.
From Insight Aug 2023 Edition p.9
